Sedimentation



NOV. 18, 1941. 1 V N, DQRR ETAL 2,263,168 I SEDIMENTATION original Filed June'a, 1935 2 sheis-sneet 1 Nov. 1s, 1941.

J. v. N-{DoRR Erin.` y 2,263,168 v SEDIMENTATIQN i Original' Filed June 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fr IVG 2.

Patented Nov. 18, 1941 l UNITED STATES PATENT SEDTMENTATION John V. N. Dorr, William C. Weber, George M. Darby, and Elliott J. Roberts, Westport', Conn., assignors to The Dorr Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Original application June 8, 1935, Serial No.

25,584, also substitute and continuation of application March 26, 1937, Serial No. 133,166. Divided and this application September 14, 1939, Serial No. 294,981

(clizia-55) s claims.

-tation units which are known as clariers 'or thickeners and which are usually characterized by a settling tank or basin having continual sediment removal therefrom as underow andcontinuous removal of supernatant liquid as decanted effluent. In such apparatus there seem to exist perennial problems involving improved modes of (a) getting the liquid to lbe treated into the sedimentation tank or settler, and (-b) ofthereafter diffusing the supplied liquid into the liquid being treated in the tank. To get liquid into the tank itself is one step and the flow or distribution of fed liquid which is already held in qulescence in the tank is another step. All of this must be done while permitting full range of action of the mechanical arrangement or instrumentalities necessary for continually removing the sediment deposited on-thesettling floor of the tank bottom.

In our parent application Serial No. 25,584 filed June 8, 1935, and which on January 2, 1940, matured into Patent 2,185,785, there are disclosed several manners according to which incoming liquid is brought into the tank and there are described and claimed certain fundamentals relating to the manner or manners in which the liquid fed to the settling tank or liquid holding means is diffused and dispersed into the quiescent body `of liquid already therein.

This is a division of the parent application above identified, and herein and hereby there is being claimed a particular manner of getting the liquid into the tank itself as this phase of the invention is useful per se with or without the liquid diffusing teachings of the'parent case.

Apparatus of the present invention has a settling tank with a bottom providing an upflow opening which is sometimes referred to herein as an intermediate upflow conduit. In the construction shown herein the upflow'opening is p'rovided in a protruding region of the tank bottom, or as otherwise expressed, in a short upflow conduit providing section thereof that furnishes the base of or foundation for a stationary pier structure carried thereby and secured thereto. The feed of the. tank is through the instrumentality of a pipe or conduit section disposed below the floor of the tank and thatv delivers the incoming liquid into the intermediate upflow conduit section just referred to.

The pier structure of the present invention is tapered and provides an upwardly and inwardly extending base portion. The tapered base portion of the pier has apertures, iow openings or windows providing passageways leading from the interior to the exterior thereof and through which inowing liquid is delivered into the lower 1nterior portion of a drum that surrounds the pier. The base of the pier has an opening registering with the delivery end of the intermediate conduit and because of the bottom section of the pier being tapered and having flow openings or apertures left therein, there is realized an easy and gradual transition in the flow path from a verytical direction upwardly and outwardly to the base of the pier into the lower regions of the carrying drum or cage.

There then follows a forward upward ow within th'elow section of the drum which in the preferred form is turnable. Such iiow of liquid Within'the drum causesl the liquid to hold and carry with it al1-of the solid particles entrained therein andthereby preventing any substantial settling or undue accumulation of solids within o the space between the lower portion of the drum on the one hand and the stationary portion of the tank bottom or pier structure on the other hand.

In the specific embodiment or form of the invention shown,the drum is in the form of a 4tubular member having at the lower portion thereof a ring-sealing construction functionally disposed between it and the base of the pier structure, or as otherwise expressed, between it and the upow conduit section constituting the founassociated with the turnable drum.

Certain novel features of the present invention according to one aspect thereof maybe viewed as relating to a pier structure which has an apertured tapered base portion and also the cooperative association with such pier structure of a surrounding tubular arm-carrying member n in the form of a depending rake-arm carrying drum so disposed relative to the apertures in the base portion of the pier that it directly receives within the lower portion thereof liquid passing thereto from the lower interior portion of the pier.

Certain features of novelty respecting the invention hereof reside in the formation of the pier; the relation between the feed conduit, pier and turnable drum; the relationship between the tur'nable drum and the stationary tank bottom; and the relationship4 between the stationary tank bottom and the stationary pier.

More specifically stated, however, novelty resides in using a tapering pier; in having a specially designed pier apertured in its bottom or base portion; in having sealing means between the turnable drum and the tank portion while avoiding pocketing liquid adjacent thereto; and

in the insuring of an'upward flow of liquid from the conduit section through and upward to and out of the apertures of the pier and into the marginal apertured drum.

The description that follows is taken largely from our parent application above identified herein In the accompanying drawings:

Figs. 1 and 2 are respectively vertical and plan views on one form of sedimentation apparatus for realizing features of the invention hereof..

Fig. 3 isa vertical sectional view of an arm of the rotatable mechanism of Figs. 1 and 2, and is a view taken as on a plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Figs. 1 and 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

-In the drawings the feed distributing device or feed mechanism III is shown adapted to a circular basin or tank II usually formed of con: crete. Arranged in the tank I I is a sludge or settled solids raking and collecting mechanism I2 which is rotatable about a vertically extending axis, and the feed mechanism and the sludge collecting mechanism have been combined so as to provide a rotatable combined feed distributing and sludge collecting mechanism. The rotatable mechanism just described is supported in any suitable manner from a tapered central pier or column I3 and is driven by mechanism that derives support from said pier in any suitable manner, for example, after the teachings of the Scott Patent No. 1,888,743 granted November 22, 1932. This mode of support and central drive for the rotatable sludge raking mechanism is old and well known and by the invention hereof there is incorporated in connection with this rotatable mechanism novel means for getting incoming liquid into the tank.

I In the showing in the drawings the feed enters through a conduit I4 providing the lower or bight section of an inverted siphon having an upwardly extending delivery leg I5 constituting an intermediate conduit section provided in or by the tank bottom or by a hollow protuberance thereof which serves as or provides a foundation for. the tapered pier or column. The intermediate conduit section I5 discharges into the tapering base portion of ,the central pier or column I3. Through and from certain apertures or window like openings as 33 in the lower portion of the pier the liquid passes into a rotatable distributing drum or well IB for ultimate discharge into a surrounding sedimentation zone. The drum or well I6 is supported by and depends from a horizontally-turnable bearing member 21 that is hereinafter referred to more in detail. In the embodiment shown herein radial feed distributor pipes, ducts or conduits I1 extend from the drum or well I6. The turnable bearing member 21 and the drum or well I6 depending therefrom constitute a horizontally-tunable carrier for the pipes or conduits I1 and thus indirectly for the raking elements or blades 23 which are in turn supported by and depend from the conduits I1. The radial feed distributing pipes I1 therefore become carrier arms for the raking blades 23 and it will be appreciated that the arms or pipes I1 in fact constitute members common to a feed-distributing means and to a sludge-raking means whereby a combined feed-distributing and sludge-raking mechanism is enabled to be realized, The pipes `or yconduits I1 are shown in cross-section in Fig. 3. These pipes are each provided with a large number of circular downwardly directing orifice portions or orifices I8 spaced in accordance with the available settling area of the basin. The space arrangement is such that there will be very few or very small orifices at the center or central portion of the tank and a larger number or larger orifices at the outer regions, or in other words, at the outer portions of the radially extending pipes I1.

This arrangement of the orifice portions I8 is readily ascertainable from an inspection of Fig. 1. The orifice portions I8 may or may not be, but preferably are, in the form of directing nozzles and they may or may not be, but preferably are, provided with diffuser baies or plates I9. These diffuser plates function to effect a diffusion or more uniform distribution of the liquid-solids mixture.

In the sedimentation apparatus shown, the tank II has a sloping bottom 20 and upstanding walls 2| carrying the effluent launder construction which is provided by an effluent overflow trough or launder22 that delivers thenormal level of the body of liquid in the settling tank. The sludge raking and collecting mechanism I2 includes a number of raking blades or scrapers 23 which function to rake the sedimented sludge or settled solids from the diverse sections of the bottom or settling area of the tank; to collect the sludge or solids thus raked; and ultimately to convey the same to the discharge section or sediment receiving sump 24, from which they are ultimately passed or withdrawn under controlled conditions from the sedimentation tank or basin II. The combined rotatable feed distributing and sludge raking or collecting mechanism comprises the horizontally-turnable bearing member 21 that is mounted on a stationary bearing member 28 at the top of the central pier I3 and which in turn deriving support from the latter. The combined feed distributing and sludge collecting mechanism is driven in any suitable manner as from the motor`25 which derives support from the pier or hollow structure I3 and which functions through the medium of power transmission mechanism 26 having means that imparts operative rotary movement to the horizontallyturnable bearing member 21 of the combined rotatable mechanism whereby the sludge engaging elements or raking blades thereof turn in closed horizontal paths about a vertical axis that substantiallyaligns with the pier or hollow column.

The section of the Isedimentation basin which is served and scraped by the feed discharge mechanism may be considered as the sludge or solids receiving zone, and it is to be noted that the several oriced portions lli-and the associated diffuser plate construction IS-function to deliver a relatively uniform amount of material per unit of settling area in and throughout the horizontal transversely extending zone which is located within the lower portion of the tank `aeeaice immediately above the sludge settling zone referred to. This horizontal zone in which the feed material, or in other words, the solid-liquid mixture is delivered, is in a zone which is referred to herein as the liquid receiving zone.

The arrows in Fig. 1 indicate the upward flow path for the column of liquid inthe sedimentation chamber or basin II and may also indicate how there is a relatively sharp turn'or change in direction in the uppermost portion of the liquid column or body of sedimenting effluent. These arrows indicate how the course of travel for the effluent-clarified effluent-is ultimately in an outward radial direction towards and into the emuent launder 22. l

The effluent launder 22 is marginally arranged in respect to the tank and is carried directly on and by the upstanding peripheral wall construction-2| of the tank II,

'I'he low conduit or bight section `I4 is located below the floor or settling area of the tank and it supplies liquid to the upwardly' extending flow delivery leg I5. It will be. noted that the construction providing the tank or basin proper includesin the bottom section thereof a portion which may be referred to as constituting an upow conduit section or apertured portion which provides the upflow feed opening or discharge leg I5 and that any liquid solids mixture passing from and upwardly directed by this leg I5 is delivered directly and upwardly into the lower interior portion of the pier or column I3.

The pier or column just referred to is sta tionary. In the form shown it has an apertured section or a skeleton formation and comprises members suitably connected to provide the required strength and rigidity to meet the load and yoperative strains imposed upon it. The pier structure I3 has an annular or ring-shaped base member 29 that substantially registers with the upflow delivery opening of the upwardly extending leg I5. The pier structure also has horizontally spaced upwardly extending supporting members 30, vertically spaced cross tie members 3l and a horizontal cap portionor cap member 32 upon which the stationary bearing member 26 is provided. The pier rises from the stationary bottom portion of the tank and has suflicient,

upward extent for the stationary bearing member 28 to be located at an elevation slightly higher than that of the normal level of the liquid in the tank which level is determined by the overflow lip of the launder or trough 22. The pier has several apertures, flow openings or windows 33. At least some of these apertures,` flow openings or windows are provided in the regions immediately above the lower base ring member 29 and between the supportingmembers l30 extending upwardly therefrom. From these apertures or flow openings which are thus provided in or by the pier structure the onflowing liquid is passed into the drum or well I6 wherein the velocity of flow is substantially reduced or slowed down because of the relatively large'flow area 'or volume or expansion space left within the drum or well I6.

The drum or well I6 constitutes a verticallyextending tubular member'and egress from the bottom thereof is-substantially out off by and because of associated sealing rings as 35 and 36 or their equivalent provided between the lower end of the tubular member or drum on the one tioned and it is to be noted that they function as carrier arms for the several rakes or sedimentengaging blades 23 which collectively constitute sediment engaging, impelling and transferring elements. blades `23 constitute that which is `sometimes referred to as a rake arm structure embodying or carrying sediment engaging, impelling and transferring elements turnable in closed horizontal paths about a vertically-extending axis, or as 'otherwise expressed, turnable about the pier I3.

These rake carrying arms Ilaresupported from `the vertically-extending drum or tubular member I6 and extend from the lower portion of the latter. The peripheral or marginal portion of the drum I6 is apertured to provide peripheral flow openings at 34 through which liquid passes from the drum into the tubular' members or arms I1 for distribution therefrom within the relatively quiescent liquid-holding section of the tank. In other words theinner ends of the tubular distributing arms I1 are in register with the flow openings at 34 and are supported from the drum I6 whereby they function not only as flow-distributing arms but also as rake-carrying arms.`

The base ring or annular member 29 of the pier structure constitutes not only a base member, of the pier proper but also has associated therewith an annular member or ring-shaped portion 35 that functions as a stationary sealing ring or element provided on or constituting a part of the stationary bottom of the tank, The tubular arm-carrying member or flow distributing well I6 embodies or is provided at the lower end thereof with an `annular element or ring-shaped portion 36. The horizontally-turnable ringshaped member 36 extends proximate, in fact has overlapping relationship with the stationary sealing ring 35 provided by orat the bottom of the pier, .or as otherwise expressed, provided on the apertured rising portion or protuberance of the tank bottom. These ring-shaped members or annular sealing elements or portions 35 and 36 are disposed in cooperative relationship with respect to each other and the combined purpose thereof is to prevent the egress or discourage the flow of any substantial amount of liquid from the interior of the drum through the space between said rings into the regions of said tank which may be viewed as exteriorly located with respect to the drum I6 which has peripheral openings or marginal apertures as 34 which colhand and the stationary structure of the tank on the other hand.

Radial distributing ducts I1 have been men- 75 lectively provide flow discharge area leading from the drum. It will be` observed that the flow delivery from the pier through the low portion of the windows thereof into the drum is sufficientlyv low or proximate the sealing construction to prevent or avoid any substantial accumulation of the `sediment within the lower regions of the drum with the result that all of the liquid-solids mixture received within the pier and passing therefrom is caused to move forwardl with the flowing liquid through and from the peripheral apertures or marginal flow transmission openings provided in or by the wall portion of the tubular drum or arm carrying well I6.

The drum I6 may be referred to as the inow slowing-down and feed distributing Well and by the combined arrangement of the features constituting the same, including parts associated therewith, there is realized a construction for obtaining a relatively uniform distribution of incoming liquid within the relatively quiescent settling zone within the tank. 'I'he construction is such that `the discharge or transfer of liquid These arms Il together with raking from the drum or well I6 is primarily from regions at elevations above that whereat the sealing ring construction is located. There is no substantial escape of solids downwardly from the drum, to wit, between the lower end of the drum on the one hand and the stationary structure of the tank on the other hand as such egress or flow is prevented or opposed because of the sealing ring construction described.

It will also be noted that the tubular drum and the sealing ring construction provided at and between the lower end of the drum and the stationary structure at the base of the pier constitutes a barrier for preventing any direct flow of liquid or of liquid-solids mixture from the upflow section I to the sump or sediment discharge 24.

From the drawings hereof it will be seen that the annular base member 29 of the pier is relatively large, that the upwardly and inwardly inclined supporting member 30 thereof and the cross tie members 3l thereof result in a tapering pier construction which is provided with apertures or ow openings in the relatively large base portion thereof. The relatively small upper portion has a small cap member provided with a stationary bearing smaller in diameter as compared with the outside diameter of the base member 29. 'Ihe flow openings in the large tapering base portion thereof permit a ready and direct ow of incoming liquid from the lower interior portion of the pier into the tubular rake arm carrying member or liquid distributing drum. The tapering construction of the pier leads to a relatively light, compact, but strong and rigid structure well designed to support the loads thereupon and to withstand the operative reactive forces to which it is subjected during the normal operation of the sediment raking mechanism and the parts associated therewith. The employment of the tapering pier construction also permits the employment of a tubular rake arm supporting drum which is large at the bottom and which diminishes in size in passing towards the top, or as otherwise expressed, it permits the use of a tubular member or drum which is-substantially smaller at the top than at the bottom. This construction also favors the employment of a relatively small turnable supporting bearing for the drum, to wit, one which is much smaller in diameter than would be the case if the small cap for the pier had not been provided. One phase of the invention relates to the tapered pier construction. A more specific phase thereof relates to the employment with the tapering pier of the tapered carrying drum, and all of this leads to the practical employment of a turnable bearing construction of less horizontal diameter than would be the case if the tapering features had not been embodied ln the pier and drum construction shown.

Certain phases of the present invention revolve about novel features of construction and arrangement of parts employed in or embodied by the stationary pier and by the horizontallyturnable combined feeding and sediment raking mechanism. Of the features just referred to some relate to the novel embodiment and emflow openings through which iniiowing liquid passes on its way into the tubular arm-carrying drum or well I6 and of which at least some of the liquid is delivered directly into the regions immediately over the sealing construction provided by the cooperating stationary and horizontally-turnable sealing rings.

The application upon which this patent is based is (a) a division of parent application Serial No. 25,584, filed June 8, 1935, which on January 2, 1940, matured into Patent No. 2,185,785, entitled sedimentation processes and apparatus and (b) also a continuation of and substitute for an application Serial No. 133,166, led March 26, 1937, as a division of the parent application above identified entitled sedimentation.

We claim:

1. A sedimentation unit having a tank with a bottom and marginal Wall, means for overowing clarified supernatant liquid from the tank that thereby determines the normal level of the body of liquid undergoing quiescent sedimentation within the tank, a hollow pier for the tank provided with flow openings leading from the interior to the exterior thereof, an inuent conduit section leading to and provided for delivering incoming liquid into the hollow pier, a turnable peripherally-apertured drum disposed in spaced relationship with respect to the pier whereby a liquid-receiving space is provided exteriorly of the pier and within the drum. and motor-actuated means for turning said drum about said pier; said unit being characterized in that a submerged sealing means is provided between the lower portion of the drum and the pier for substantially closing the space between the pier and the lower portion of the drum, and in that certain flow openings of the pier extend proximate a region within the drum that is at an elevation lower than that of the general elevation of the apertures of the drum so that liquid owing from such low pier openings sweeps upwardly solids which might otherwise tend to accumulate and remain entrapped in the lower lnterior portion of the drum whereby solids entering the drum pass through said apertures of the drum for ultimate reception into the liquidholding region exteriorly disposed with respect to the drum.

2. A sedimentation unit having a settling tank with a bottom and marginal wall, outflow means having an overflow section for overiiowing claried supernatant liquid from the tank and determining the normal surface level of a relatively quiescent body of liquid within the tank, a hollow pier for the tank provided with ow openployment of the sealing construction between the ings leading from the interior to the exterior thereof, a conduit section leading to and delivering into the interior of the pier, a peripherally-apertured tubular member encircling said pier and providing a liquid-receiving space within itself, sediment-transferring bladed elements, and motivated means for turning said elements about said pier; said unit being characterized in that a submergedly-disposed stationary ring-shaped sealing element is provided that is connected to and extends from the base of the pier, in that the turnable member provides a ring-shaped sealing element disposed so as to extend proximate said stationary ring-shaped sealing element whereby said sealing elements have a substantially abutting relationship one with the other at elevations substantially lower than that of said overflow section" and functioning for preventing any substantial escape o -liquid from within the turnable member past said sealing elements into the surrounding body of liquid.

3. A sedimentation unit as defined in and by claim 2 in which the cooperating' ring-shaped sealing elements are disposed in overlapping relationship with respect to each other.

4. A settling unit as defined in and by claim 2 further characterized in that certain of the ilow openings leading from the interior of the pier have extent to elevation adjacent the lowermost regions within the turnable member.

5. A sedimentation unit comprising in combination a settling tank with a bottom and marginal wall and having outow means with a Weir for overflowing supernatant liquid from the tank and determining the normal level of liquid undergoing sedimentation within the tank, a hollow pier for the tank having iiow discharge openings leading from the interior of the pier to the exterior thereof, a conduit section delivering` into the apertured section of the pier, sedimenttransferring .means comprising a rake-carrying arm and a turnable drum .that carries the arm, said drum encircling the pier and provided with a ow discharge area leading therefrom having at least an outflow section at an elevation lower than that of the Weir, and motor-actuated Imeans for turning said drum and the arm carried thereby along closed paths about thel pier; said unit being characterized in that a submerged stationary ring portion is provided adjacent the lower end of the pier and extends therefrom, and a submerged movable ring portion is provided at the lower end of the turnable drum and in proximity with respect to said stationary ring portion and extends sulciently close to the latter for avoiding any substantial passage of iniiowing liquid from between said ring portions as the apparatus normally functions.

6. A sedimentation unit comprising in combination a settling tank with a bottom and marginal wall' and having means for overflowing supernatant liquid` from the tank that thereby deundergoing quiescent sedimentation within the tank, a hollow pier for the tank having flow discharge openings leading from the interior of the pier to the exterior thereof, a conduit section for delivering feed liquid into the hollow section of the pier, a turnable drum encircling the pier and provided with at least one flow discharge opening leading therefrom through which liquid in transit passes on its way into the liquid undergoing quiescent sedimentation, and motor-actuated means for turning said 'drum about the pier; two ring sections for said unit of which one is stationary and is on the pier while the other is at the lower end of the turnable drum, said ring section being at elevation substantially lower than that of the normal operative level in the tank as determined by said means -for overflowing supernatant liquid from the tank and are sufficiently close whereby there is avoided any substantial passage of liquid between them from the interior to the exterior of th'e drum as the apparatus functions; said unit being particularized in that certain portions of the flow discharge openings leading from the interior of the pier extend to elevations substantially as low as that ofthe locality whereat said ring sections are close together, and in that the said flow discharge opening leading from the drum is at an elevation vertically-spaced from said locality whereby there .is realized an upiiow of feed liquid within the drum suiiicient to carry upwardly between the pier and drum as well as outwardly from the drumsolids that would otherwise tend to settle and congregate in the space about the pier and within the lower portion of the drum.

A JOHN V. N. DORR.

WILLIAM C. WEBER. GEORGE M. DARBY. ELLIO'I'I J. ROBERTS. 

